TESDA gears up tech-voc courses for K to12 program

03 March 2012 With the K to 12 program soon in place, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is gearing up a massive review and updating of its courses to be offered to the students to boost their chances of employment after graduation. TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva said that with the implementation of the K to 12 program, the country will have at least 1.2 million graduates every year. Speaking at the 4th National COCOPEA Congress at the University of Sto. Tomas, Villanueva made a push anew for the new education curriculum, stressing the vital role of K to 12 in raising the quality of education to make the country catch up with the rest of the world. The introduction of the K to 12 is a major educational reform that impacts not only on basic education but also on technical education and skills development (TESD) and higher education, he said. We recognize that TESDA has an important role to play in the K to 12 reform initiative and under the leadership of Department of Education (DepEd), we affirm our commitment to make it work and succeed, Villanueva added. Villanueva said the K to 12 program would harmonize the policies and programs of TESDA with those of DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), put in place a standard Philippine Qualifications Framework, mainstream the qualifications offered by the agency and prompt it to further improve its learning infrastructure in terms of curriculum, trainers and other processes. The assessment and certification of students, he said, will be part of the K to 12 curriculum. Students, who will opt to engage in technical-vocational studies will undergo assessment and after passing, they will be issued certification either a National Certificate I (NCI) or a National Certificate II (NCII). NC I & NC II TESD qualifications will be mainstreamed in the specialization phase which falls during Grade 9-12. Thus, it becomes imperative for TESDA to move up and focus towards the development and implementation of higher level qualifications, Villanueva said. The K to12 basic education reform plan, which is a flagship education program of the Aquino administration, will add two years of senior high school to the current 10-year education curriculum.

The two additional years in senior high school are aimed to serve as a specialization period for high school students, whether in vocational skills, music, the arts or sports. High school graduates have the option to pursue jobs with a basic education diploma or proceed to college. Villanueva said the program will make Philippine education at par with the rest of the world, with 12 years of basic schooling already a global standard. He said that only three countries Philippines, Angola and Djibouti have a 10-year basic schooling cycle. The TESDA chief said the K to 12 will provide the impetus for the harmonization of the education policies and programs among TESDA, DepEd, and CHED. These policies and programs will be guided by the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) that would outline the progression from Kindergarten to the Post-Doctoral/ Specialization levels based on the competence gained by students through formal or experiential learning. When in place, the K to 12 will give the students a variety of choices to pursue from among the TESDA qualifications included in the curriculum It will also prioritize specialization in agri-fishery and agri-business to attract more students to take the courses in the light of the shortage of graduates in these fields. The program would also require TESDA to undertake a massive technical education and skills development infrastructure build-up in the areas of trainers/assessors development; learning materials development; IT-linked programs, systems and processes to support program registration and assessment and certification, Villanueva said. In the BPO sector alone, he reported that TESDA has allocated P50 million for the training of trainers to increase its pool of qualified and competent trainers. TESDA will also assist the DepEd in capacitating its cadre of trainers who will handle the agencys component of the K to 12 curriculum. Villanueva said they would also maximize existing resources and tap the 282 vocationalized high schools under DepEd which are in various levels of development. TESDA is also pushing for the review of the Ladderized Education Program in Congress.

Colleges may offer senior high courses

By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:27 am | Sunday, May 20th, 2012

MANILA, PhilippinesColleges are looking into various schemes to adjust to the Department of Educations (DepEd) Kindergarten to Year 12 (K to 12) basic education reform program, among them by offering a senior high school course based on the departments curriculum, an education official said. Assistant Secretary Jesus Mateo made the suggestion as the DepEd girds for the phased implementation of K to 12 in June, beginning with the introduction of new curricula for Grades 1 and 7, which is now first year high school. We are expecting two years of no college enrollment, Mateo told the Inquirer. So what happens to the colleges and universities? One model is that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will be licensed to offer the additional two years, especially for those students who will go to university. For example, youre in fourth year now and based on the assessment, you are fit to enter university. You will then take your Grades 11 and 12 in the university of your choice, the official said. The difference is that senior high school in private schools will be at cost, while public senior high school will be offered for free, beginning school year 2016-2017. K to 12 aims to produce more qualified high school graduates by adding institutionalized public kindergarten and two years of senior high school to the current 10-year elementary-high school cycle. In the additional two years, students may take up their choice specialization and then opt to join the workforce upon high school graduation, or pursue a college education. Enrollment subsidy Under the models being drafted for HEIs, Mateo said the government may also subsidize the students enrollment in private senior high school under the Government Assistance to Student and Teachers in Private Education (Gastpe). Instead of building additional classrooms, we will pay for the space in private schools that will now offer Grades 11 and 12, said Mateo.

Another option is for instructors and professors of colleges and universities to handle classes in Grade 11 and 12. Were already at the stage of fine tuning these three models, Mateo said. Private colleges and universities that will offer Grades 11 and 12 will have to get a license from the DepEd, he added. He said private schools may even start offering the two additional grade levels ahead of the DepEd, as long as they are prepared with a curriculum compliant with the departments design and have facilities and trained teachers to handle the classes. They can already start that. Its OK if they start ahead of us. Its not a question of who starts first but, rather, how ready are we? Its the entire country that will benefit from this, said Mateo.

DepEd chief: K+12 curriculum may shorten college to 3 years

EARL VICTOR L. ROSERO, GMA NEWS March 30, 2012 10:15am With changes in the curriculum and the two more years added to basic education, colleges and universities may soon drop some subjects that are essentially remedial high school courses, thereby shortening college to three years from the usual four years, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said. Luistro also clarified that some private schools already have K+12 (Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondary education) program while a few even have up to 13 years of elementary and high school curriculum. He said the Education Act of 1982 provides only for a minimum of 10 years, so that private schools can even offer more than the 10 years. There are 7,613 private grade schools and 5,682 private high schools as of the latest count of the Department of Education, Luistro said in his State of Basic Education report before the annual meeting of the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) in Makati last Wednesday. The DepEd chief explained that the public school system needs Congress to amend the Education Act of 1982, so DepEd can have legal basis for seeking the budget for the additional two years of

senior high school. Former Finance Secretary and now PBEd chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. said the K+12 and other DepEd reforms represent a monumental change in the way we prepare our youth. Saying that now is the time to take bold steps, Del Rosario assured Luistro the support of the PBEd in efforts to convince Congress to pass a law needed to implement the K+12 program, adding that without the (new) law, the proposed eduction curriculum "would be put at risk. New curriculum Luistro said the two years of senior high school will happen starting June 2016 not this year because for the School Year 2012-2013, only the universal kindergarten; the new curriculum for Grade 1; and the changing of First Year high school to new curriculum for Grade 7 will be phased in. Also, Luistro said those who finish the K+12 program "will graduate twice" because they will earn two certificates: one for completion of the DepEd subjects at Grade 10 and the other for finishing the technical skills subjects integrated into the curriculum. For these technical subjects, DepEd is working with the Department f Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Data of the National Statistics Office show that 35 percent of the unemployed are high school graduates. On the other hand, the DOLE said many high school graduates do not get hired because they lack skills and qualities employers look for. Luistro said the K+12 program will address this concern of employers. Not just adding 2 years In explaining the K+12 program, Luistro stressed that the new curriculum "is not just about adding two years, not just about preparing students for jobs, but preparing them for life." Prior to 2016, Luistro said the DepEd will have some model high schools try out the senior high school reforms so any implementation issues can be spotted and rectified before full roll-out in June 2016.

The DepEd has also been phasing in an array of other reforms such as:

Subjects in grade school and high school will be taught in the mother tongue or local languages of the students;

Books and other learning materials being translated into 12 major Philippine languages; Science concepts will be integrated into Health and other subjects while separate science classes will come in the higher grade levels;

Public school teachers to undergo training on the K+12 curricular changes in April and May;

Blended learning and other measures to address dropout and congestion problems; Census of in-school and out-of-school youths with the help of barangay officials and other local government officials; and

Unique Learner Reference Number to track individual students as they go through the education system from the time they first enroll to until they leave or graduate.

Luistro also said he will ask Congress to enact a law that will allow practitioners, experts and graduates of courses other than Education, to teach on a part-time basis in the public schools. According to him, the DepEd needs the expertise of these people for specialized topics and technical subjects in the K+12 program. LBG, GMA News

Search for 'model schools' on

By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT January 19, 2012, 3:25pm

MANILA, Philippines The search is on for both public and private schools to be recognized as model schools when the Senior High School (SHS) under the Enhanced Kindergarten to 12 (K-to-12) Basic Education Program of the Department of Education (DepEd) will start on June 2016. Education Secretary Armin Luistro on Thursday disclosed that contrary to common perception, the SHS will not be implemented this coming school year but will officially start on June 2016 and the first batch of graduates will be produced on June 2018.

Luistro said that the K-to-12 is being implemented through various phases. The first phase was implemented last June through the offering of the Universal Kindergarten Program which requires all five-year-olds to enroll in Kinder to prepare them for formal schooling. The second phase, explained Luistro, is to be rolled out this coming school year2012 to 2013through the introduction of the new curriculum for Grade 1 and First Year High School. I would like to clarify that the senior high school ay hindi pa uumpisahan ng pangmalawakan until June 2016, Luistro said. So in terms of classrooms and teacher training, wala pa. However, before June 2016, we are in the process of pre-identifying schools to become our model schools, he explained. Luistro said that as early as now, DepEd pre-identified selected schoolsthose that are ready in terms of facilities and teacher trainingto be the model schools before the SHS is implemented nationwide. Our monitoring starts this coming school year, June 2012 to June 2016, for the senior high schools that will model this [SHS] before the nationwide implementation, Luistro explained. Initially, Luistro revealed that DepEd is eyeing for seven private schools to be model schools for Senior High School and 17one for each regionmodel public schools. However, we are expecting more applications or nominations to be model schools in the next two years, he said. Luistro said that the public secondary schools that offer technical-vocational courses have a great potential to be chosen as SHS model schools because of their existing facilities, trained teachers and tech-voc curriculum. Mas madali ang mga itong gawing model schools kasi nasa kanila na ang mga kailangan such as facilities and training of teachers. Ang kailangan na lang is to fine tune the curriculum in line with that of the K-to-12, he explained. Currently, DepEd has 282 tech-voc schools nationwide that implement the Strengthened Technical and Vocational Education Program. However, the students have to pay extra for postsecondary tec-voc courses such as automotive, computer hardware service, cosmetology, furniture and cabinet-making, garments, air conditioning and refrigeration, food production, crop production, food processing, fish culture, and fish capture, among others. Luistro said that once K-to-12 has been fully implemented and the K-to-12 bill has been enacted into law, students who wish to take post-secondary tech-voc courses will no longer have to pay. Thats the beauty of it because it will be embedded in budget of DepEd so parents dont have to worry about paying extra for the education of their children for another two years, he explained. Under the K-to-12 framework, there will be one year of kinder, six years of Elementary Education or Grades 1 to 6, four years of Junior High School (JHS) or Grades 7 and 10, and the SHS or Grade 11 to 12. Luistro explained that based on the initial design of the curriculum, the SHS will offer tracks that will lead to specializations in Academics, Technical-Vocational and Sports and Arts aside from the regular subjects on Science, Math, English, and contemporary issues.

When it comes to private schools, Luistro is confident that the transition for the K-to-12 program will be easier because most of them already offer Nursery, Preparatory, and the Kinder 1 and 2 programs which give a total of 12-year duration of basic education. In terms of classrooms and duration that the students stay in their school, theres no problem in private schools, Luistro said. All they have to do is to pay attention to the curriculum itself. However, I believe that some re-labeling and fine tuning of their current curriculum will solve this, he added. Luistro said that private schools can also be recognized by the DepEd as model schools given that they officially inform the Department about their plans for transition. He added private schools can stay as a very good junior high school if they wish to. However, they must also be able to develop a curriculum for the SHS, he said. The DepEd chief said that since majority of the students who go to private schools enroll to college after graduation and take the major courses, apprenticeship would be very ideal for the SHS Program. We are pushing for a SHS curriculum that is very closely responsive to the needs of industry. Through apprenticeship or on-the-job training, students will be given an opportunity to find their interests, Luistro explained. Luistro added that since the courses in First Year and Second Year college are mostly General Education (GE) or mostly reviews of high school subjects, the curriculum for the SHSin the model schoolshall include most of the GE courses. Despite the seemingly rigid structure of K-to-12, Luistro said that everything is still up to the students and their parents. Palagay ko, we must allow the students and parents to make the final choice, he said. What we want to do is guide them through career assessment for them to find their interests and areas where they can excel. But at the end of the day, the students will ultimately make the choice, Luistro said

School options MINI CRITIQUE By Isagani Cruz (The Philippine Star) Updated January 26, 2012 What can schools do to prepare for K to 12?

The Department of Education (DepEd) has recommended several actions that schools can do to comply with the new curriculum.

According to DepEd, different types of schools may model Senior High beginning this June, but it is important to consider institutional capability, acceptability to students/parents, and relevance to local context.

Let us look at that directive closely.

First of all, it is clear that there are different types of schools. In fact, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has an even more elaborate description (called a typology) of these types. DepEd names only three general types: high schools without college departments, high schools with college departments, and colleges without high schools. For convenience, let us call these types A, B, and C, respectively.

Type A schools (high schools that do not have college students on their campuses) can simply add the two years that make up Senior High.

Type B schools (high schools that have college students on their campuses) can add Senior High. These schools may call the added two years by any other name (Junior College, Career Academy, College Preparatory, Pre-Baccalaureate, whatever), since, as Shakespeare said, a rose by any other name is still a rose.

Type C schools (Higher Educational Institutions or HEIs that offer only college courses) can add a Senior High.

DepEd adds the three conditions of capability, acceptability, and relevance. Let us see how these conditions apply to each of these types.

A Type A school needs to build schoolrooms and to hire teachers, assuming that it has only enough schoolrooms for its current needs and all its teachers are already overworked. (There is no such animal as a teacher who is not overworked.)

A Type A school needs a lot more money than it now has to comply with K to 12. Because that money will come from parents, parents will have to agree with the expansion plan. If the parents do not agree or if the school cannot add schoolrooms (for example, if the buildings cannot have extra floors or the campus is too small), then the students will have no choice but to move to another school for their Senior High. (When parents see how much of a hassle that is, they will agree.)

A Type B school has fewer problems with K to 12. All it has to do is to assign some of its current college classrooms to Senior High. Teachers of General Education (GE) college courses can teach many of the Senior High subjects, provided they pass the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET). The school has to hire only a few more teachers for the subjects in Senior High that are not the same as the GE subjects.

A Type C school has more problems. Right now, such a school reports only to CHED or, if it has technical courses, to TESDA. Now, it will have to report also to DepEd and, if it does not have technical courses right now, to TESDA. Like a Type B school, it will have to make its teachers pass the LET. It will also have to hire high school teachers for the subjects in Senior High that are not the same as the GE subjects.

Let us talk about relevance to local needs.

What does DepEd mean by local needs? DepEd gives the example of a high school in a community that relies primarily on fishing. The Senior High in that community has to offer electives in fishing. Similarly, a high school situated in a ship-building community will have to offer welding as an elective. A school in a community with a number of call centers should offer English electives in Senior High.

A Type A school will have the easiest time of all, because it most likely already responds to local needs. Many public schools in communities that need very specialized skills (for example, agriculture, fishing, welding, dressmaking) already offer such electives. A Senior High will merely add hours and coordinate with TESDA for technical electives.

A Type B school will also probably already have the facilities for electives appropriate to local needs. If not, this school will have to spend for rooms, equipment, and teachers.

A Type C school need not have facilities for technical-vocational subjects, because its Senior High students will obviously be college-bound. Nevertheless, some subjects in college courses such as Hotel

and Restaurant Management and IT will need to be certified by TESDA, since they will now be classified as high school subjects.

About the LET. All high school teachers need a license. I suggest that HEIs offer education units to their GE teachers and to make these teachers take the LET. It is a very good idea anyway for all college teachers to take education subjects. As students will confirm, it is one thing for a teacher to know his or her subject matter and quite another thing to be able to facilitate student learning in that subject. Teaching is as much a profession as being a medical doctor, a writer, an engineer, a lawyer, or a social scientist. Like all professions, teaching needs explicit professional training; you can get that only from education courses, not from experience. Senior HS Mar 29,2012 The K to 12 program acknowledges that most, if not all Filipinos, want a college diploma. At the same time, most Filipinos (except priests and nuns vowed to poverty) want to make money, either as entrepreneurs or as employees. The program, therefore, promises to give every Grade 12 graduate a realistic chance to go to college or to earn a living immediately after graduation.

The program for Senior High School (SHS, or Grades 11 and 12) consists of two distinct parts: first, a core curriculum that prepares students for college, and second, a set of subjects (called career pathways) that prepare students for careers. All students are forced to take the core curriculum, as well as to choose at least one of the career pathways.

The core consists mostly of the same subjects that make up the rest of the K to 12 curriculum, namely, English, Filipino, Math, and Science. The content of Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) continues in a new subject called Contemporary Issues. New in basic education are subjects taken from the General Education Curriculum (GEC) of college, namely, Literatures of the Philippines, Literatures of the World, and Philosophy of the Human Person.

The career pathways are of various kinds. There are those that come with a National Certification Level 2 (NC2) from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). (Grades 7 to 10 will enable students to obtain an NC1.) Examples of these are: Animal Production, Caregiving, Computing and Internet Fundamentals, Crop Production, Dressmaking, Electrical Installation and Maintenance, Food Processing, Home Management, Tailoring, Technical Drawing, and Welding. A school will most likely offer only one or two of these.

There are those that do not come with an NC but have equivalent certifications or recognition from other government and non-government bodies. Examples of these are: arts, foreign language, journalism, local language, music, security, sports, and theater. Career pathways related to arts may be assessed by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Those related to sports may be assessed by the Philippine Sports Commission. Those related to foreign languages may be assessed by TESDA or by such foreign language institutes as the Alliance Francaise, the Goethe Institut, and Instituto Cervantes.

There are those that focus on entrepreneurship. Examples of these are bookkeeping, industrial design, marketing, and taxation. Willing to set up an accrediting system for entrepreneurship is Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), in cooperation with various business organizations.

The curriculum for SHS has not been finalized by Technical Working Groups for the various learning areas, but the general framework has been approved by the Steering Committee (the interagency body in charge of the K to 12 program).

In general, students in Grade 11 will spend about two-thirds of their time studying the core subjects. One-third of their time will be spent on their chosen career pathways, either on campus or more likely on an internship or immersion in a company. Students in Grade 12 will spend more than a third of their time in an internship or immersion.

In the original K to 12 program, the first Grade 11 sections were expected to be offered only in 2016, when those entering Junior High School this coming June will have finished Grade 10. Because some public and private schools, however, are ready to offer Grade 11 on a voluntary basis to their graduates this coming June, there are models already being accredited by the Department of Education (DepEd). These models will serve two purposes: they will enable recent high school graduates to enjoy the benefit of a dual-based SHS (dual because it is both college-ready and work-ready), and they will serve as laboratories to validate the curriculum.

Among schools that have indicated their willingness to serve as models of SHS are: Angeles City Trade School, Assumption Antipolo, Ateneo de Naga University, Bacolod National High School, Balagtas Agriculture National High School, Bataan School of Fisheries, Bukidnon National High School, Bukig Agricultural School, Centro Montessori International, Claret School of Quezon City, Colegio San Agustin Makati, Dingle Farm School, Doa Monserrat Lopez Memorial School, Iligan City School of Fisheries, Immaculate Conception Academy, Kananga-EDC Institute of Technology, Manila Central University, MGC

New Life Christian Academy, Miriam College High School, OPOL National School of Arts and Trades, Our Lady of Fatima University, Philippine Womens University, Pinagtangulan National High School, Rizal Experimental Station and Pilot School of Cottage Industries, San Pedro Relocation Center National High School, St. Jude Catholic School, St. Paul College Pasig, St. Pedro Poveda, Subangdaku Tech-Voc High School, Tagum City National Trade School, University of Makati, Xavier School, and schools belonging to the National Network of Normal Schools (3NS).

My own school, The Manila Times College, has formed a consortium with Asia Pacific College, Don Bosco Technical Institute, and the Business Processing Association of the Philippines to offer Grade 11 in June. We have designed a curriculum that will allow students to take core courses during Grade 11 and the first semester of Grade 12 and to go full-time into a BPO (most likely a call center) during their last semester. Very likely, these students will be hired by the BPOs where they will do their internship, thus fulfilling the main promise of the K to 12 program, namely, to allow students to earn a living immediately after high school graduation.

HEIs and K to 12 MINI CRITIQUE By Isagani Cruz (The Philippine Star)

March 08, 2012

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are understandably anxious about the K to 12 reform. Their concerns center around two major fears: first, the possibility that there will be no incoming first-year students while the first batches of high school students are in Senior High School (SHS or Grades 11 and 12); and second, the possibility that teachers who teach subjects in the General Education Curriculum (GEC) will not have anything to teach when the subjects are moved to SHS.

Let us confront the first fear. Students now graduating from elementary school will use the new curriculum when they enrol in Grade 7 (First Year High School) this coming June. After four years of Junior High School (JHS or Grades 7 to 10), these students will then go to SHS. That will be in June 2016 (four years from this year).

In June 2016, therefore, there will be no one applying for admission to college.

Of course, this is not strictly true, since there are students long finished with high school that will go to college in that year, but they will be very few. Also, there will be students from private high schools that will go to college that year, but they will also be very few.

Let me explain that last sentence. Private basic education schools with two Kindergarten years (K1 and K2) and an extra Grade 7 year will already have complied with the 12-year requirement of K to 12. This has been announced by DepEd.

How does that work? The first Kindergarten (K1) can be considered equivalent to the K of K to 12, as long as the child is five years old at that time. The second Kindergarten (K2) or Prep (as it is sometimes called), as long as the child is six years old, will be equivalent to Grade 1 of K to 12. If we keep adjusting the grade levels as we go up the ladder, the child finishing Grade 6 in a private school will be equivalent (in age and accomplishment) to a child finishing Grade 7 in a public school.

Now, if the private school has a Grade 7, then that grade can be considered as equivalent to Grade 8 in a public school. Again, if we keep adjusting the grade levels, we will see that a child in Fourth Year High School in a private school will then be equivalent to a child in Grade 12 in a public school. These students can then go directly to college, as they do now.

These students, however, are also very few, since many private schools have already given up offering a Grade 7. Most private HEIs will suffer such a big drop in enrolment in 2016 that they will get into financial trouble.

Moreover, the problem will not last only through the academic year starting June 2016. In June 2017, there will still be very few students entering college, because most potential students will still be in Grade 12. Even when the first batch of Grade 12 students enter college, there will still be a problem, because there will be no sophomores (since there were no freshmen the previous year) or juniors. When the freshmen become sophomores, there will be no juniors or seniors, and when the sophomores become juniors, there will be no seniors. We are looking all the way to 2020 with HEIs having problems with missing students.

In fact, even after 2020 and long after the K to 12 program is in full swing, HEIs will still have a big problem. The K to 12 program offers Grade 12 graduates three real options to go to college directly, to start a business and go to college (if ever) only in the future, and to be employed in an industry and go to college (if at all) only at night. If we assume that these options will be equally attractive to graduates, then HEIs can expect a two-thirds drop in enrollment anyway.

No wonder HEIs are of two minds about the K to 12 program. They know that their graduates right now have a lot of difficulty getting into foreign graduate schools or getting high-level jobs abroad, because other countries expect most professionals to have had at least 12 years of pre-university education. Therefore, HEIs are supporting the K to 12 program. On the other hand, the program is almost certain to affect their finances.

Several solutions to this problem have been proposed. Perhaps the simplest is one proposed by DepEd. DepEd is willing to let HEIs handle SHS. The advantages are obvious. DepEd does not need to build new classrooms or hire new teachers.

HEIs will never lack students. The disadvantages, however, are also obvious. Students will have to move from their JHS campus to the HEI campus, not an easy thing to do in certain places in the country. There are more than 4,000 high schools and only around 2,000 HEIs.

HEIs will also have to lower their tuition rates to the level that DepEd can afford to subsidize (because SHS being part of secondary education has to be free, according to the Constitution). Moreover, college teachers have to take the licensure examinations for teachers (LET) in order to be able to teach high school students. (To be continued)

K to 12 and GEC MINI CRITIQUE By Isagani Cruz (The Philippine Star) Updated March 22, 2012
The second fear that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have about the K to 12 reform involves teachers who teach subjects in the General Education Curriculum (GEC). Will these teachers lose their jobs? To understand why there is nothing to fear, we must review the rationale for the current GEC now being used by all colleges and universities in the Philippines. Unlike any other country, the Philippines requires HEIs to offer almost two years of General Education (GE). HEIs in the USA offer only one year of GE. Most HEIs in Europe do not offer even one year of GE. Philippine HEIs offer the current GEC for three reasons. First, HEIs believe that graduates from Philippine high schools are not prepared to go to college. HEIs, therefore, require students to take tool subjects or remedial subjects, that is, subjects that are meant to make up for what high schools are not able to do.

Second, HEIs are forced by Congress to teach certain subjects or topics that all Filipinos should know. These are called mandated subjects. Because these subjects are not related to any professional or major course but are considered of general usefulness to students, they are offered in the GEC. Third, HEIs believe that all professionals should have a larger worldview than that offered by any specialized field. College graduates tend to hold influential posts in the public and private sectors. To be able to manage the country, their companies, and themselves, college graduates have to know a little bit about all the branches of knowledge, such as the humanities, the sciences, and the social sciences. Let us review how the current GEC meets these three purposes. There are two GECs GEC-A and GEC-B. GEC-A (taken by students majoring in the humanities, social sciences, or communication) requires 36 units (that is, hours per week for a semester or trimester) divided into 24 units of language and literature, 15 units of mathematics and natural sciences, 6 units of humanities, 12 units of social sciences, and 6 units of mandated subjects. GEC-A was promulgated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order (CMO) 59, series of 1996. GEC-B (taken by all other students) requires 21 units of language and humanities, 15 units of mathematics, natural sciences, and information technology, 12 units of social sciences, and 3 units of mandated subjects. GEC-B was promulgated by CHED Memorandum (CM) 4, series of 1997. The new K to 12 curriculum includes all the GEC language, literature, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, and mandated subjects, as well as most of the social science subjects. In addition, upon the recommendation of its Technical Panel for General Education (TPGE), CHED has come up with a list of College Readiness Standards (CRS) that require college applicants to show evidence of having all the competencies currently being offered in these subjects. There is, therefore, no longer any need for HEIs to offer most of the subjects now listed in either GEC-A or GEC-B. This removes the first reason for having the current GEC. Teachers teaching these subjects have two options. They can stay in college and teach major subjects, or they can shift to basic education and teach more or less the same GEC subjects. Once they pass the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) required by law for high school teachers, college teachers need not fear losing their income. The second reason for the current GEC has to do with the law. In its wisdom, Congress has passed laws that require students to take up, for example, agrarian reform, family planning, National Service Training Program (NSTP), Philippine Constitution, physical education, population education, Rizal, and taxation. These subjects are offered in the first two years of college. Since the 16-year-old and 17-year-old students now assumed to be in the first two years of college will now be assumed to be in the last two years of a 12year basic education cycle, these mandated subjects are now clearly meant to be in Senior High School (SHS). There are provisions in the K to 12 bills in Congress that such mandated subjects will be offered in high school rather than in college. There is, therefore, no need for HEIs to offer such subjects once the K to 12 law is passed. Teachers of these subjects will have the same options as those teaching the tool subjects; they can teach major college subjects or they can move to high school.

The third reason for having a GEC is still valid. Students, whether in high school or college, need to know and understand fields other than their own specialization. CHEDs TPGE has come up with a new GEC (for lack of a better name, called Revised GEC or RGEC). RGEC needs to be approved first by CHED; I will not give details about it, except to say that CMO 2, series of 2011, specifies that RGEC will have 36 units for all students regardless of major. Teachers of GEC, therefore, now have a third option (aside from teaching major subjects or teaching in high school). They can teach subjects in the RGEC. Since the RGEC will be offered only starting June 2018, teachers have plenty of time to prepare for the new subjects. They also have time to take education units to prepare for the LET.

How can private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) cope with the transition phase of the K to 12 program? I am referring to the years when students will be staying in Grades 11 and 12 instead of entering college. This two-year gap in enrolment will surely mean the collapse of several private HEIs, since these HEIs depend completely on tuition income.

In fact, we are not dealing only with two years. In the year when the first batch of Grade 11 students will be in Grade 12, there will be no college freshmen, but there will also not be sophomores (since there were no freshmen the previous year). Even when the first batch of Grade 12 graduates get to college, there will still be a two-year gap, because there will be no third-year students (since there were no sophomores the previous year). This two-year gap will continue until the first batch of Grade 12 graduates get to their fourth year in a typical four-year college course; if the college course takes five years or longer, the gap will continue even longer.

The K to 12 Steering Committee, which includes both DepEd and CHED, has come up with three transition plans for private HEIs.

The first plan is for private HEIs to handle Senior High School (Grades 11 and 12) completely, using their own classrooms and teachers. This solves the problem of the gap, because there will always be enrollees in the HEI. These enrollees will just not be called college students but high school students.

Since no human plan is ever perfect, this plan has its problems. For example, the teachers have to have licenses, because they will now be teaching high school rather than college subjects, even if the subjects are almost exactly the same. (Most of the subjects in the proposed Senior High School curriculum come from the college General Education Curriculum.)

Another problem is the salary scale of the college teachers that will teach high school subjects. Many college teachers are paid by the hour, but there are a lot more hours in high school than in college. For example, the subject called The Literatures of the Philippines is taught for 54 hours in college, but will be taught for 90 hours in Grade 12. This might be a good financial incentive for college teachers to move to high school, but administrators will faint at the idea of keeping the hourly rates required by faculty unions.

A third problem has to do with students, who have to move from their Junior High School (Grades 7 to 10) to another campus for their Senior High School. If an HEI is near a public high school, this problem is minimal, but this might not be true for most HEIs. (The same problem occurs with DepEds plan to use private high schools and tech-voc schools, but we are talking only of the problems of HEIs in this column.)

The second plan is for DepEd to lease the facilities of HEIs for Senior High School classes. This is a good solution for HEIs, because they will still have income even if there are no freshmen or sophomore students (or junior or senior students in later years).

Their problem will be their teachers of General Education courses. If DepEd leases the facilities, it will use its own teachers. The HEI teachers will have no loads (subjects to teach) during the gaps. This will lead to tremendous suffering among faculty members, not to mention massive problems with faculty unions.

The third plan is a combination of the first two plans.

A simple combination would be something like this. DepEd will lease the facilities of an HEI, but allow the HEI to field its own college teachers for the Senior High School subjects. There would appear to be a financial sacrifice for the HEI, since DepEd cannot afford to pay the entire salaries of college teachers. Some financial feasibility studies need to be done to show HEIs that this is a win-win solution.

Another combination would be something like this. HEIs can handle Senior High School themselves, but DepEd would pay the tuition of the students, similar to the Government Assistance to Students and

Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) scheme for Grades 1 to 10. This would also entail some financial studies.

The assumption in all these plans, needless to say, is that public school students will not pay tuition, as guaranteed by Art. 14, Sec. 2, of the Constitution. Since private HEIs are unlikely to offer education for free, somebody has to pay the tuition of the public school students in Senior High School. Fortunately, this is not difficult to remedy. The bill that establishes Senior High School (the omnibus bill on K to 12) can easily provide for money for students that will use the resources of private HEIs.

Private HEIs, as well as private high schools, should look at these three plans positively. The government is clearly looking after their welfare, even if the K to 12 program is aimed primarily at public school students. As with other government projects, private-public partnership is crucial to the success of K to 12. (To be continued)